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Hi, everyone. I have another question that I would like to ask you. I would like to humbly add that I hope to be able to give back to the ShadowMusic community as much as I have received in recent weeks. I hope you all know how much I appreciate your help.

I found a website http://www.stratcat.biz/4027.shtml that sells custom length tremolo arms. I am looking for a shorter arm than the one that came with the guitar.

The site indicates that there are generally two size threads for Squier Strat tremolo arms: 5mm and 6mm The 5mm is sometimes called Small Thread and the 6mm is sometimes called Large Thread, so they say.

Does anyone here know whether it's the 5mm or 6mm thread size for the Squier Classic Vibe 60s Strat trem arm?

I made several phone calls and checked several websites -- including Fender -- and surprisingly, I can't find the answer to this question. I am afraid to simply buy one 5mm and one 6mm and try them both. Using the wrong one could possibly mess up my guitar, which would be a disaster.

Thank you very much for any advice you can give me. If I can return the favor in any way, please let me know.

Kind regards,
Donna

Hi Donna

Just take your trem arm to any hardware shop and try a 5mm nut on the tread, it should go on with ease if not it's a 6mm or vise versa if the 6mm is loose then it's a 5mm

Hope this helps
Dave

Hi Donna
If its just the length you want to change ,just pull off the plastic tip and cut it to the size you want with a hacksaw
then push the tip back on.
if you want to alter the angle or bend ,find someone with a vice and adjust it to what ever you want.

Regards
Jay

I agree with what Jay says...it'll save you a lot of trouble trying to find a replacement for the one you already have.
But before you go into sawing a piece off of your existing vibrato arm, try to find someone who owns a Strat with a shorter one
and see how it feels and works.
Then you can get an idea of what you prefer and what works best for you...
I recently done the same to the vibrato arm of my Burns Marquee and must say it's a big improvement...makes things a whole lot easier
and is more comfortable to use when playing.

Ernie

My sincere thanks to Jay and Ernie, and to everyone else who helped me with my tremolo issue. Today I got this issue resolved, and I actually combined both Jay's and Ernie's suggestions together. I kept my original tremolo arm as-is, because you're right...I might not actually like the shorter length, you never know. I went to the store where I'd bought my guitar. Although they could not say with certainty what thread size a Squier Classic Vibe 60s Strat uses, the suspicion is that it is a 5mm.

What the store did is: they sold me a brand new, Fender Brand tremolo arm that is labeled as "American Made Standard Strat Trem Arm" and first of all we made sure it fit onto my guitar. It doesn't say what thread it is, but it fits. The luthier then did what Jay said...he cut off a portion of the arm, sanded the rough edge, and used some glue to re-affix the rubber tip.

I have not used it yet, as I've decided to wait until tomorrow when the glue has dried. So now I have a normal length trem arm and a short one. I'm looking forward to trying them both out and, one way or the other, learning how to play the guitar using one of them.

FYI, I contacted the "Easy Mute Tremolo" folks. Their trem arms do not come in the 6mm size, but they do have 5mm in two different lengths. I think my problem is solved, however.

Thanks again to everyone for your help.

Kind regards,
Donna

Hi, Donna, a word of reassurance from the undoubted experts (you appear to have found them without any help from anyone here)...

On that website you cited, http://www.stratcat.biz/4027.shtml, the helpful folks at Overdrive Guitar Works make it clear that for Squier guitars, the thread is 5mm IF the arm is equipped with the traditional plastic tip and 6mm if the arm is the visibly-thicker "Superstrat" type without a plastic tip.

Thanks for the other URL http://www.stratcat.biz/hardware-tremolo-arms.shtml - very handy! He does the Easy-Mute cheaper than it can be bought in the UK, and I do like the look of that "Drop Trem" model, which appears to put the business end of the arm in a position relative to the bridge which is more like a Jaguar or Jazzmaster.

Best wishes,

JN

JimN wrote:


Thanks for the other URL http://www.stratcat.biz/hardware-tremolo-arms.shtml - very handy! He does the Easy-Mute cheaper than it can be bought in the UK, and I do like the look of that "Drop Trem" model, which appears to put the business end of the arm in a position relative to the bridge which is more like a Jaguar or Jazzmaster.

Best wishes,

JN

Roger Paulsson - Mona Lisa. Stratocaster with Easy -Mute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUIyZHq8u6o

Roger Paulsson - Flamingo. Stratocaster with Drop - Trem.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPlwr-7zEMA

cheers, Pol

Donna_Plasky wrote:
I made several phone calls and checked several websites -- including Fender -- and surprisingly, I can't find the answer to this question. I am afraid to simply buy one 5mm and one 6mm and try them both. Using the wrong one could possibly mess up my guitar, which would be a disaster.

Thank you very much for any advice you can give me. If I can return the favor in any way, please let me know.

Kind regards,
Donna

Squiers that use a trem arm with a white tip have used both 5mm & 6mm threads. If you have both, try the 6mm first - you wouldn't be able to get it into the 5mm thread hole, therefore no risk to the thread. If I recall correctly, the 5mm just falls into the 6mm hole - or if it didn't, it would be very obvious that it was wrong.

Chas.

Pol -- thank you for the videos, showing the two different style trem arms. Seeing the different arms on the guitar and in use really helped me a lot, more than looking at photos of the just the trem arm itself. I am guessing that the "drop arm" is designed for comfort, if a person likes it being on that angle. How about the EZ Mute trem arms? Is there something unique about EZ Mute arms? Or are they just a high-quality alternative to other brand arms?

Jim -- if I accidentally found a website that helped you, you are very very welcome. I was just lucky. You have helped me with so many things; I appreciate it.

Chas -- thank you for your advice and reassurance on trying out the 5mm and 6mm arms. I understand what you are saying, and I do feel much better about it now. If I buy a trem arm that doesn't fit, I'll just give it away or throw it away. It's very good to know that it wasn't as delicate as I thought, that I wouldn't necessarily hurt the guitar by just trying out a trem arm. I will, however, refrain from truss rod adjustments and such because I haven't a clue.

I don't really know what the reason is for them saying 6mm Squier arms cannot have the rubber tip. I did see, though, on my shortened trem arm (that they cut up, so I don't know the exact length), the rubber tip would crash into the volume knob if you positioned the trem arm on a downward angle, in a precise spot. But so long as I keep the arm horizontal, not too far from the first string, it's fine. It doesn't bump anything.

Can I tell you something funny? With all my wanting to be like Hank, I'm now one step closer, but not what you might think. I just came back from the eye doctor's, and starting today I now have to wear eye glasses. But just to be clear, I am not making fun of Hank. I am making fun of myself.

Best wishes,
Donna

Hi Donna, The EZ mute trem armshave a 'dog-leg' bend in them that takes the arm downwards (towards the treble side of the guitar for about an inch), before bending back parallel with the strings. This gives more room to get your palm across the bridge area for palm-muting the strings. I believe they were originally conceived with Hank in mind, but I may be wrong about that. They certainly make playing 'Footapper' easier.

Tony.